Flotation process



one s'rA'ras F E o ROYEJR LUCKENBACH, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO LUGKENIIBACE PROCESSES, INC., 01' SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, CORPORATION OF NEVADA.

ILOTATION EROCESS.

1,425,321 Specification of Letters Patent. 170 Drawing.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROYER LUCKENBACH, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, city and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful. Flotation Process, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to a reagent for use in ore concentration by flotation, and to the process of using the same, and has for its objects the'production of a powerful frothing and gathering agent which will be cheap to produce, economical of use, and in the manufacture of which by products of con siderable value in flotation will be produced.

These and further objects will more fully appear in the following specification and claims.

It has been discovered that certain prodnets of the destructive distillation, or of steam distillation of greasewood, a prickly, evergreen shrub indigenous to arid re ions of the United States, and possibly elsew ere, possess the quality of producing bubbles when introduced into an ore pulp and the mixture is aerated either by agitation or otherwise, and that such bubbles have a strong aflinity for certain mineralsand mineral compounds, which will become attached to the bubbles and float therewith to the surface of the pulp and form a thick, heavy and stable froth which may be removed from the surface of the pulp with the attached mineral values, leaving the valueless gangue within the pulp.

The principal products of the destructive distillation of greasewood comprise gas, a watery liquid, a thick, pasty semi liquid, resembling in appearance coal tar, and charcoal. The thick, pasty mass, which for the purposes of this application may betermed greasetar, although the product is neither a grease or a tar as far as is known, is the reagent employed in carrying out the flotation process.

The greasetar in the condition in which it comes from the still may be employed in the pulp, in which case it must be beaten into the water before the ore pulp is formed, or be carried through the pulverizin app-aratus with the ore before the formation of the pulp to break it up into minute globules. I

The preferred method, however, is to so Application filed February 9, 1920. Serial No. 357,855.

treat the greasetar that it will be rendered miscible in water before it is introduced into the water. By this method of treating the reagent it may be placed in the pulp inthe apparatus in which flotation is effected and the cost of the preliminary water treatment will be avoided. Any material which will so cut the greasetar as to make it capable of thorough mixing with the water of the pulp may be employed. It has been found that alcohol or alcoholic alkali, or alkaline acetone is suitable for this purpose. I

The pasty semiliquid distillate resulting from the steam distillation of the various varieties of greasewood common to the arid regions of the west, and which differs somewhat in appearance, at least, from the product of destructive distillation of the greasetar is also a valuable frothing and gathering agent, and applicant does not desire to limit himself to the product of destructive distillation alone, but the product of steam dis tillation may be used in approximately the same proportions, and the term greasetar used herein is intended to describe the product of either steam or destructive distillation.

In compounding the reagent formed by the destructive distillation of greasewood, 10 cc. of the greasetar distillate is dissolved in approximately 15 cc. of alcoholic potash, and

the solution is diluted with about 1 liter of Water, to form a stock solution. In use stock solution of the strength given is added to the pulp in about the proportion of 5 cc. of

stock solution to about 15 liters of pulp water.

No hard and fast rule as to the proportion of stock solution to the pulp water, or on the ore can be given as different ores and different grades of the different treatment. The stock solution may be added to the pulp in small quantities until the appearance of the froth produced indicates to the mill man that a proper concentrate is being floated.

The alcohol and alkali in the stock solution will increase the frothing properties of the mixture, and the alkali will act to sharpen the separation between the concentrate and gangue, thus taking advanta e of the well known effect of alkalies upon tl e flotation of various ores.

The alcoholic otash, when used, is preferably a 10% so ution of KOH in alcohol.

same ore will require Instead of potash, caustic soda in the same proportions may be employed. Instead of thealcohol solution of potash or soda, a 10% solution of a similar alkali in acetone, or a mixture of alcohol and acetone solutions may be employed.

sample of 50 grams of ore from the Go ama, mines of Canada, containing 7 .4.%

of u. was treated in a Ruth flotation machine for 10 minutes with the stock solution as first above given. The concentrate weighed 13.3 grams and assayed 18.85% Cu.-

The tails weighed 30.5 grams with a copper contact of 2.4%. The result showed an extraction of 77.5% of the mineral content of the ore.

A-sample of 50 grams of the same wam treated in the same manner and with a reagent containing 10 grams of the product of steam distillation of grease-wood instead of the greasetar, and

' fectant for example.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes I have described the principle of my invention, together with the apparatus which I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof, but I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is merely illustrative, and that the invention may be carried out in other ways.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l: The process of concentrating ore by flotation, which comprises adding greasetar product of the distillation of greasewood to the pulp, aerating the. pulp to form a froth, and separating the froth from the pulp.

2. The process of concentrating ore by flotation, which comprises adding a reagent comprising the .reaction product of the greasetar distillate of greasewood and an alkali, and alcohol to'the pulp, aerating the pulp to form a-froth and separating the froth from the pulp.

3. The process of"='concentrating ore by flotation, which comprises adding a reagent comprising the reaction product of the greasetar distillate of greasewood and an alkali, and alcohol and acetone to the pulp, aerating the pulp to form a froth and separating the froth from the pulp.

4. Theprocess of concentrating ore by flotation, which comprises addingthe greasetar product of the distillation of greasewood and alcohol to the pulp, aerating the pulp to form a froth, and separating the froth from the pulp.

5. The process of concentrating ore by flotation, which comprises adding the greasetar product of the distillation ofgreasewood and alcohol and acetone to the pulp, aerating the pulp to form a froth, and separatingthe froth from the pulp.

This specification signed and witnessed this sixth day of February, 1920. r ROYER LUC-KENBACH. Witnesses:

A. E. BENTON, H. LE ERTHON. 

